EDUO 9820: Ethnic Sacred Places: Celebrating the Diversity of our Multicultural Communities

Course Description:

In the San Joaquin valley, classrooms are comprised of children of immigrants from all over the world, such as the Armenians, Vietnamese, Japanese, Germans from Russia, and Mexicans. They came to escape persecution and/or to have a better life in this rich agricultural area. Along with their belongings, they brought their own religious beliefs, This self-paced class will offer teachers the opportunity to tour historic as well as more contemporary ethnic churches, mosques, and temples that are the sacred places of worship in our multicultural community. Participants in this class will be warmly welcomed at all ethnic sacred places.

Course Objectives:

1. Teachers will learn about their students’ cultural heritage, and religious traditions.
2. Teachers will gain knowledge about historic buildings that are being preserved for
   posterity.
3. Teachers will gain a better appreciation of the religious customs and celebrations of
   the more recent ethnic influx of immigrants into our valley

Class Requirements:

1. Register signing up online at http://dominicanCAonline.com/california13.htm which will take you to Bob and Julie Gray’s Dominican University website.
2. Participants in this class will tour a minimum of four historic and/or contemporary sacred places that are highly recommended in the area. However, instructor permission is not needed if sacred places from other areas of the San Joaquin Valley are toured. For Fresno, it is recommended that teachers choose some historic and some contemporary sacred places to tour, in order to get the full
   benefit of this class.
3. Also, any church/temple/mosque special event or festival can be substituted for a tour of an ethnic spiritual place. For example, the Hindu temple has many colorful festivals and events to choose from and enjoy.
4. Participants will submit one written reflection for each of the four sacred places visited. The reflections for the four sacred places should be one page or more in length. The instructor can be reached at (559) 225-9020 (evenings or weekends only) or emailed at jbcoodinators@gmail.com if there are any questions or concerns.
5. The Summary and Evaluation page of the course should be completed and sent in with the six write-ups as an attachment through email at jbcoordinators@gmail.com. If coursework needs to be mailed, send to: Julie Gray/Ethnic Sacred Places, 4743 N. Thorne Ave., Fresno, Ca. 93704.